Final Installations at the Studio Museum in Harlem (1981)

An old, discarded car muffler forms the “stem” of this visual pun in which the artist recreates a form in nature using found materials. The mound of dirt on which the sculpture rests, for example, was constructed using materials taken from a nearby mosaic factory. Its arrangement resembles the sun. Flower Tree also produces a kinetic effect, with the oversized “flower petals” can rotate. It is one of several examples of movement being incorporated into Jorge Luis’s sculptures.

Cockfight is a three-dimensional collage that depicts two roosters suspended in the air on either side of a metal ring. The scene alludes to the childhood experience of sneaking into cockfights in Puerto Rico, where the sport is legal. Like Flower Tree, the installation is mobile, thus allowing for a simulated “fight” to take place between the two roosters. Also, by shifting the axis of the cockfighting ring from vertical to horizontal, the artist recalls the violent excitement and immediacy that attracts spectators to this blood sport.